Hey Jim,
Have you looked at the Line 6 Floor Mod? I don't know what all you play, but this is a 12 amp modeler, with 3 foot switches and a pedal for volume or wah. One switch is distortion, one is chorus/phaser stuff, and one is the delay. Really simple and straight forward. My Boss GT-6 was a gift. It is way to much for me. I only use about 6 mode sounds and this thing has 1000s. Anyways, the Line 6 in Fender Blackface is really sweet. There is the Pod-2 for the same price, with 32 amps and more crazy effects, but you loose the foot switches and pedal. Headphones direct into the POD and you are in sound heaven.
I know what you mean about the volume thing. I never use my Bassman head (my best amp) at home. You need at least volume 3 to get the warm blues sound. Using the guitar volume kills it. I don't need to be loud, but to get "that sound" you need to drive the speakers.
Anyways, if you haven't seen it, here's a link. Fee shipping makes it the best price (new).
http://www.zzounds.com/item--LINFLOORPOD
JD